The Best Is Yet To Come

Love Me Like You Do

"Don't fall for it again, Sanem."

Her inner voice has been working overtime since her husband waltzed back in her life. Can must be a hypnotist in another life because she's powerless against his charms.

He'll leave again. It's who he is.

No, he won't. He loves us. He loves Orion and Violet. He loves me. You don't spend years looking for someone if you don't love them.

You can't change him.

Sanem loves every aspect of him. She would never dare change him. She's been avoiding looking at him during this conversation because she knows that she will find what she doesn't want to see: a desperate man. The inner battle with herself is raging, and she's trying her hardest to stamp it out. Her heart is winning the battle, but her head won't let the hurt and anger go. She counters.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Three months.

Can's heart sinks. Three months isn't what he wanted. Can he change her mind in three months? He knows it's nearly impossible, but he doesn't want to voice his frustration. At this point, he'll take what he can get. He needs to play the game. As he gets ready to leave and head back to his hotel, her voice stops him.

"Can, we have to take it slow. It's not just about us anymore."

Of course, he knows. He also knows that Sanem won't give herself over to him. She fought him every step of the way before. His wife doesn't believe in just giving in. He also knows she's using the kids as a buffer. He hopes he can chip the armor she had to learn to wear and find the Sanem he knows and loves beneath it.

Can needs to leave before he begs her if he can stay. He's not beneath begging. He wants to be the first person she sees in the morning and the last one she sees at night.

But he knows it's too fast. Sanem can't trust him yet. It's late, and his body is craving sleep. His eyes are closing on their own accord, but he's pushing through. He doesn't want to miss another second. Three months. He has three months. She surprises him yet again as he is saying goodnight.

"You don't have to leave."

Can is trying very hard to keep the smile off his face. She just made the first move by extending an olive branch. He readily acquiesces. He'll sleep on the couch.

"You're too big to fit in there, and you know it."

He's slept in worse places. She knows that. He was taken back to that night in the forest. He slept on the hard floor while she was bundled up in his sleeping bag. Sanem is aware that he's done it before. Why would she contest?

"The bed is big enough for both of us."

Can feels his heart race. Is Sanem saying what he thinks she's saying? We have to take it slow. Her words are echoing in his mind. Slow. He won't take his shirt off like he does when he goes to bed. He'll sleep under the covers while she sleeps on top because of her injured leg. He'll respect her rules, even if it kills him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The heat wakes her up. It must still be in the early hours of the morning because it's still pitch dark out. She's scorching hot. It feels as if she has a fever, which is odd because she's not sick. Maybe she caught a bug, and the symptoms are just making itself known now.

Sanem tries to remember what she accomplished the night before. She remembers talking with Can throughout the night. She remembered how sweet he was when he draped a blanket on top of her and adjusted her casted leg before he tucked himself in bed. As far away from her as possible.

The conversation always flowed between them effortlessly. Can fills Sanem in on everything she had missed over the years. She even remembers him falling asleep and admiring him from an arm's length away, which leads her to why she feels like she's burning.

Sometime during the night, her husband unconsciously moved closer to her. Said husband now has her pinned down, which is a feat upon itself considering he's under the covers, and she's on top. His head is against her neck, and his arms are across her waist. His hand is dangerously close to her unmentionable.

A little known fact about Can Divit: he talks in his sleep. She thought he was joking when he dropped that little bombshell on their honeymoon until she experienced it herself. She had an entire conversation with him about what he wanted to do with her as he was sleeping. She's not ashamed to say she re-enacted his monologue: word for word until he woke up. Not once did he complain. He just went along for the ride.

The air is crackling. Sanem can feel it. Whether or not Can knows it, he's awoken something in her. Something she didn't think she missed.

He's doing it again, talking in his sleep. Everything is jumbled like she's underwater. She can't tell if he's mumbling against her neck or if she's praying for something. What exactly it is she thinks she's praying for, Sanem doesn't even know. All she can focus on is the warm feeling spreading from her toes up to the roots of her hair. Her fingers are itching to help him. She bites her lip hard so she won't wake him.

Can shifts. Sanem can feel him through the blankets. His hand moves lower, and his fingers keep brushing her. Whatever it is he's doing in his dreams must be keeping his fingers busy because he's flexing quicker and harder now. He needs to stop talking against her neck. It's stupidly erotic. His stupid fingers are moving simultaneously with his breath. His breathy, sleepy voice turns her on more.

She can't think. She can't breathe, and she's powerless to stop the feelings coursing through her. She wants to move. She never wants it to end. What is happening to her?

Can angles his hand just the right way, and she just explodes. She sees the damn Milky Way and feels like she's being sucked into a black hole. Un-fucking-believable. The man is asleep for Allah's sake. If he can get her off like this when he's not even conscious, she's dreading what she knows he can do when he's awake.

It's going to be a very long three months. Brace yourself, Sanem.